The Asurs’ remembrance of their ancestors: A ‘particularly vulnerable’ tribal group – Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh & West Bengal

Chamru is an Asur, a ‘particularly vulnerable tribal group’ that dominates Sakhuapani’s population of about 2,000 and lives in villages spread over a radius of 10 to 20 km. Besides Jharkhand, members of the tribe live in pockets of Bihar, West Bengal and a few other states. The 2011 Census put the number of Asurs at … Read more

Tribal migration and economic growth – Ramachandra Guha on access to education and wholesome food

As the economist T. N. Srinivasan observes, these wide disparities meant that “if one is poor in India … one is more likely to live in rural areas, more likely to be a member of the Scheduled Caste or Tribe or other socially discriminated group, more likely to be malnourished, sick and in poor health, … Read more

Film | “Mahua Memoirs” by Vinod Raja on Adivasis communities who live in the mountain tracts and forests of the Eastern Ghats – Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chattisgarh & Jharkhand

Date and Time: 28-30 August, 2020 (48 hours, 6 pm-6 pm)Film: MAHUA MEMOIRSDirector: Vinod RajaDuration: 83 minutesFilm type: Documentary (with English subtitles)Produced by Grassroots media and Equations SYNOPSISSaloo, the bard and Thirku, the Baiga, takes us on a journey through the lives of the many Adivasis communities who live in the mountain tracts and forests … Read more

A historical plea to ‘secure the advancement of the tribals without disturbing the essential harmony of their life and secure their integration without imposition’: Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission – Government of India

Indians are truly rooted in an ethos of living in harmony with their land. There was a time when the Indian subcontinent was carpeted in green… watered by glacial rivers, blessed by rolling hills and productive grasslands, lush rainforests and wave-kissed mangroves. All creatures, great and small, found niches here and thrived. Varied cultures were … Read more